Mumbai Indians crush Royal Challengers Bangalore By 7 Wickets

MI defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 7 wickets in their fourth group stage match of the season. The Mumbai bowlers secured the win with disciplined bowling in the first innings, limiting RCB to 131 runs.

However, it was the MI hitters who went all out on Saturday, handing RCB a humiliating defeat. MI needed 15.1 overs to complete its aim of 132 runs. Mumbai cruised to victory without incident, thanks to a spectacular start from Yastika Bhatia (31 off 15) and Hayley Matthews (26 off 21).

Earlier, RCB might have been in worse danger if Elysse Perry (44 not out, 38 balls, 5×4) and Wareham (27, 20b, 3×4) had not scored 52 runs for the sixth wicket when MI chose to bowl first. Mumbai were missing regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and top pacer Shabnim Ismail for the second time in a row due to injury, but their effort remained high.

The RCB top-order hitters lacked the patience to weather the storm as the MI bowlers struck a nice line early on. Skipper Mandhana (9, 11 balls) became frustrated and attempted to knock pacer Issy Wong out of the park. However, the shot lacked strength and timing, as Brunt made a straightforward catch inside the circle.

Mumbai Indians 133 for 3 (Kerr 40*, Bhatia 31, Patil 1-15) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 131 for 6 (Perry 44*, Wareham 27, Vastrakar 2-14, Sciver-Brunt 2-27) by 7 wickets

Nat Sciver-Brunt, Mumbai Indians captain: “We reviewed the game well the other day, put some things right today. Pretty complete performance from us today, so pretty happy. We would have been happy with anything under 150. But we know the wicket changes under lights and skids on better. Really happy with our powerplay bowling. You don’t want to bowl too many in a row, not get lined up too much. We have a line-up that can bowl to left and right-handers, really lucky with the players we have. Matthews and Yastika both took their individual routes. That is something we spoke about, putting more pressure on the bowlers in the powerplay. Really enjoyed it.”

Amelia Kerr, Player of the Match: “Today was really pleasing for our team, the best we have played across all departments. Nice to leave here with a win. I love batting and training for batting. Have done a lot of work with different coaches and they have helped my game grow. Trying to back myself a little more. Nice that it has come off. Tough to bowl the last over, especially when perry is at the other end. Tried to bowl good balls and bowl to the field. Sometimes, the last over can go your way, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Smriti Mandhana, Royal Challengers Bangalore captain: “We did not get the start and it cost us the game. It was the same wicket we played against DC. Anything above 165 would have been a good total. Not as good as the other day but still a good pitch to bat on. Batting first, we have seen it is holding a little bit. We could not adjust to the pitch. We went in with the same flow. Something to learn from, hopefully we come back very soon. In terms of bowling, we need to bowl at the stumps a lot more. We have to bring the stumps in play – that is what we did in the first two game. Pez is a fighter. I would not say she was 100% tonight as well but no one watching would have said so. Happy that she got us to 130. We have one more day to think about what went wrong today. It was brilliant. Something positive to take from today. Those sorts of efforts really lift up the team.”

Yastika Bhatia: “Today’s win was very crucial. We were just thinking of getting those two points. Thankfully I could contribute. I have been working on improving my game across all levels. The wicket is very nice, it was coming onto the bat nicely and that is why I could hit those shots. I really wanted to go on and finish the game tonight. Really wanted to convert it and remain unbeaten. Hopefully I can do that in the next game and win the match for my team. I really love keeping. The bowlers in our team are good and they get me a lot of dismissals, so I am happy. Definitely my favourite leg-spinner in the world. Really like wicket-keeping to her and getting those dismissals. She has been batting really well, taking responsibility and finishing the job for the team. Really good asset.”